Glocal

Following Jesus in the 21st Century

Love

• Publisher: Cascade Books
• Year: 2017
• eBook ISBN: 9781532602092
• Topic: Theology & Religion
• Subtopic: Christian Ministry

Three far-reaching global trends--terrorism, pluralism, and globalization--have irrevocably altered how we live, think, and communicate in the twenty-first century. We now live in a "glocal" world: what happens globally impacts us locally, and what happens locally impacts things globally. These changes have profound implications for followers of Jesus.Rick Love offers biblical wisdom and practical insights on how to navigate the complexities of communication in this interconnected world. He also invites you to an inward journey that helps you better discern how the things of the heart relate to the work of the ministry.Glocal: Following Jesus in the 21st Century is a call to be a faithful follower of and a winsome witness for Jesus. Love will help you better embody and communicate a core message worth dying for, an integrated identity worthy living for, and a global dream worth suffering for.

Part I

Introduction

1

Mother Jones, the Princess, and the Prince

Today we live in a media-saturated, Internet-connected,cell phone-equipped world in which everything that happens anywhere is instantly available everywhere.

Richard Stearns

In January of 2002, just a few months after 9/11, I taught a course at Columbia International University (CIU) called “Church Planting in the Muslim World.” I was international director of Frontiers—a large mission focused on inviting all Muslims to follow Jesus. A freelance journalist named Barry Yeoman wanted to sit in on our class so he could write something about followers of Jesus in the Muslim world. He had fairly represented evangelicals in previous articles, so the administration of CIU and I decided to let him attend my class.

Barry was an eager student. He brought a Bible and looked up every verse I mentioned—and we spent much time in Scripture. I am sure he did more Bible study in that week than he had done in his whole life! (Barry was Jewish.) He also readily engaged the students at breaks and during meals.

In May 2002, I was shocked when his article came out in a magazine called Mother Jones. Mother Jones is an American independent news organization reporting on politics, the environment, human rights, and culture. It is reportedly one of the most widely read liberal publications in the United States.

The article made the front cover of the magazine. A picture of a fully veiled Muslim woman with a necklace and a cross hanging around her neck provided the background for the provocative title: “The Stealth Crusade.” Wow! I was not happy about that.

I quickly turned to the article and found that Barry did a good job of describing the dynamics of the class and some of the content of the course. But the article claimed our explicit mission was to “wipe out Islam”—an outrageous and totally fallacious comment! Those fanatical words were never uttered in the class, nor did we portray that extreme, combative attitude.

Sharing the gospel and wiping out Islam are two radically different things. In fact, the class focused on being a positive witness for Jesus, not on attacking Islam. When I emailed Barry after the article was published, he admitted that I did not say some of the things mentioned in the article. He attributed them to certain students outside of class, so he felt justified in including them in the article.

I don’t doubt that some zealous students might have said something like this, especially since this was right after 9/11. What I don’t like is that it was attributed to me by association, and that it skewed the meaning of the entire article. Anyone reading the article could easily view the class through the lens of violent fanaticism—which is blatantly wrong. Nevertheless, I can understand why Barry might have interpreted my students’ words this way. The use of militant language is unfortunately a problem among evangelicals, which I address in the chapter “Paradigm Shifts and Heart Renewal.”

Yeoman overstated and exaggerated what was said in class. He was, after all, a journalist trying to make a splash. But he did his homework, and I must confess that many aspects of his article exposed a lack of biblical breadth and depth in evangelical paradigms and practices. His public “exposé” contained enough truth to be embarrassing. While I forthrightly disagree with his embellishment, the good parts of his article forced me to reevaluate some of my beliefs and practices in light of Scripture. That’s why I had to write this book.

The story in Mother Jones and the ensuing response also powerfully displayed how different the world had become since 9/11. In the past, only a liberal audience in the US would have read this article. But because of globalization, this article ricocheted throughout the world. It was published by Utusan Melayu (Malaysia), Nawa-i-Waqt (Pakistan), UmmaNews (international wire), The Independent (United Kingdom), Payvand (Iran), Ottawa Citizen (Canada), and Weekend Australian (Australia), to name a few.

A friend of mine who lived in Pakistan told me how he felt when the Mother Jones article was published in his country. He basically did not want to be associated with me anymore. He said he actually practiced saying in the local language, “I don’t know Rick Love!”

Soon afterward I was asked to be interviewed by:

• National Geographic Channel (United States)

• The Washington Post (United States)

• Christianity Today (United States)

• The New York Times (United States)

• CNN International

• National Public Radio (United States)

• 60 Minutes (Australia)

• Courrier International (France)

• September Films (United Kingdom)

• 60 Minutes II (United States)

• Der Spiegel (Germany) and

• talkSPORT radio (United Kingdom).

I said “no!” to these interviews. I didn’t want to share in a high-profile way about our work in Muslim countries. Moreover, evangelical mission leaders generally don’t do interviews with the secular press, especially in response to such a negative article.

Our interconnected world had confronted me with a vengeance. I felt exposed as the full force of living in a globalized world hit me. I wasn’t just unaware and caught off guard; I was oblivious to these global realities. To be honest, the whole evangelical missions world—of which I was a prime representation and example—was blind to the impact of globalized media.

Basically, those of us working in missions didn’t know how to engage the press. We thought we could live and communicate in two separate worlds. We were operating as if there was no connection between our in-house conversations with fellow Christians, and our conversation with those outside the household of faith. It was like we were speaking two different languages—one to “insiders” and another to “outsiders.” This didn’t cause us discomfort when our two worlds remained separate, but when the Internet ambushed us with a new “one-world reality,” we were forced to confront this duality.

A Whole New World

Barry Yeoman sensationalized the topics and conversations in my class. But why not? Muslims were the hot topic after 9/11. What was taught privately in a Christian university could now be publically proclaimed among the nations. What was once a low-profile, boring topic became high-profile news.

A few years after the Mother Jones article, I attended the National Prayer Breakfast in Washington, D.C. I hung out with the Middle East delegation and made many new Muslim friends. I remember sitting with a prince and princess from the Middle East during a meal. When I introduced myself, the princess said, “Rick Love . . . I have heard about you!” With the recent article on “The Stealth Crusade” fresh in my mind, I got nervous and shot back quickly (but respectfully), “Don’t believe everything you read!” She smiled and then we both turned our attention to another conversation that was going on.

I shared this incident with a wise friend of mine. He knew about the Mother Jones article and talked to me about my interaction with the princess. He said, “Rick, you need to set up your own website.” I said, “No way! It’s really egotistical to have your own website.” His response stunned me: “Rick, either you define yourself, or someone else will.” That event helped birth my approach to communication in a globalized world. Ricklove.net soon found its way among the millions of websites vying for hits in a Google-ized world.

But back to “The Stealth Crusade.”

We evangelicals face a daunting communication problem. How we have talked about those outside the church does not communicate well to a twenty-first–century audience. But to be honest, we have more than just a communication problem. At the root of our communication problems are integrity issues. Feelings of self-righteousness and judgment too often lurk in our hearts. Pride and contempt hide just beneath the surface. And these heart issues seep into our communication. They were there all along, but our evangelical tribal triumphalism muffled our conscience. We have not dealt with these deeper issues because we thought that the way we do things was the only possible way we could obey Jesus. And when I say “we,” I include myself. I had a lot to learn.

The Mother Jones article launched me on a pilgrimage of profound reflection and introspection about how we communicate and live out the gospel in a glocalized world. It made me evaluate my motivation, my message, my mandate, and my method like never before.

Rethinking the Heart of Communication and the Integrity of the Heart

In 2005 I went on a three-day spiritual retreat. I spent my time praying, fasting, reading Scripture, and reflecting on the challenges of following Jesus in a glocalized world. By the end of the third day, I was convinced that God was calling me to something new. At that time I was calling it “3D”—shorthand for three-dimensional communication—because it involved communicating one core message to three audiences (Chri...

Table of contents

• Title Page
• Preface
• Part I: Introduction
• Part II: A Core Message Worth Dying For
• Part III: A Core Identity Worth Living For
• Part IV: A Core Dream Worth Suffering For
• Part V: Bearers of Blessing Among Neighbors and Nations
• Works Cited